Macron and Carney deepen France-Canada ties amid Trump tensions
French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney have pledged closer cooperation after meeting in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, a French territory off Canada's Atlantic coast. The talks brought the archipelago into the centre of a wider diplomatic message about sovereignty, trade and strategic autonomy. The visit was the first by a French president to the territory since 2014 and the first by a Canadian prime minister.The two leaders said they wanted to strengthen ties across space, climate, energy and trade, while also addressing what they described as rising geopolitical tensions and pressure on democratic values. Carney said the... [Continue Reading]
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Seven Ethiopian armed groups form alliance against government
Seven Ethiopian armed groups have announced a joint alliance aimed at overthrowing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government and setting up an inclusive transitional administration. The groups said on Sunday that they had formed the Ethiopian Peoples' Forces Alliance for Survival, also described as the Alliance for Survival. The announcement brings together former adversaries who say they will now set aside differences as fears grow of a wider war in Ethiopia.The alliance includes the Amhara Fano National Movement, the Tigray People's Liberation Front, and the Oromo Liberation Army, along with four smaller groups: the Ogaden National Liberation Front, the Afar Revolutionary... [Continue Reading]
European intelligence warns Russia may test NATO territory within months
European intelligence officials are reported to be warning that Russia could mount an attack on NATO territory within months, according to comments carried in the press. The warning is framed as a possible future move rather than a confirmed assault, but it has sharpened concern over the security of the alliance's eastern flank. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has also said the reported aim would be to test whether NATO's Article 5 commitment is more theoretical than practical.The reports say one intelligence source described the timeframe as "months not years", suggesting the concern is being treated as immediate rather than... [Continue Reading]
US, Denmark and Greenland security deal draws fresh attention as leaders welcome Arctic agreement
The United States, Denmark and Greenland have agreed a security arrangement that both sides say is intended to strengthen the Arctic region. The deal follows months of dispute over Greenland's strategic role and comes after public comments from the US president about the territory's security and investment controls. It is the latest development in a long-running debate over how the island should be protected and who should have influence there.According to the reported terms, the agreement would allow the United States to maintain a stronger security presence in Greenland and prevent adversaries from establishing a military foothold or making sensitive... [Continue Reading]
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US embassies issue security alerts as Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia escalate
US embassies across the Middle East have issued security alerts warning Americans to maintain heightened vigilance after fresh Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. The alerts were issued by embassies in Bahrain, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. They said the military conflict could escalate rapidly and warned of possible flight cancellations, airspace closures and wider travel disruption.The warnings came after the Houthis said on Saturday that they had carried out two operations using ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones, against Saudi targets. The group said one strike targeted sensitive sites... [Continue Reading]
US-Greenland deal reaffirms Danish sovereignty as signing nears at UN General Assembly
French President Emmanuel Macron has said a security deal between the United States, Denmark and Greenland helps to reaffirm Danish sovereignty over the Arctic territory. Speaking while visiting the French overseas territory of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, he said international law and Danish sovereignty were being respected, describing that as a positive outcome. His comments came after Denmark and Greenland welcomed the binding agreement and said they would sign it on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week.The agreement was announced by US President Donald Trump and is described by Danish officials as binding.... [Continue Reading]
US weighs major troop reduction in Europe amid NATO tensions
The United States is reportedly considering a significant reduction in its military footprint in Europe, with one option said to involve cutting about one-third of the troops stationed there. The discussion comes as senior Pentagon commanders are expected to submit plans to Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in the coming days. The reported review is linked to wider tensions over access to European airbases and burden-sharing inside NATO.According to the supplied report, the Pentagon is weighing several options as part of a NATO review announced in June. One scenario would withdraw roughly one-third of the estimated 68,000 US troops in Europe,... [Continue Reading]
Germany receives first F-35 fighter jet amid NATO rearmament
Germany has received its first F-35A Lightning II fighter jet, marking the start of deliveries under a 35-aircraft order placed in 2022. The aircraft was formally presented to the German government at Lockheed Martin's production facility in Fort Worth, Texas, during a ceremony attended by Defence Minister Boris Pistorius. The delivery comes as Germany accelerates military modernisation and raises defence spending alongside other European NATO members.Pistorius said the arrival of the aircraft represents the beginning of a new era for the German Air Force. He described the F-35A as the world's most advanced combat aircraft, citing its stealth features, integration... [Continue Reading]
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Russian drones threaten Kyiv-bound officials as border incidents spread near Poland and Moldova
Russian drone activity near Ukraine's western border has intensified concerns for officials travelling to and from Kyiv, after fresh incidents were reported close to Poland and Moldova. The latest developments include a drone strike on a train locomotive near the Polish border, damage to vehicles at a petrol station nearby, and a separate drone entering Moldovan airspace. Together, the incidents underline how the war is spilling beyond the front line and into routes used by diplomats and other international visitors.According to the supplied reports, the train locomotive was hit on 13 September about 5 kilometres from the Polish border, while... [Continue Reading]
Canada applies to join Europe-led Joint Expeditionary Force amid closer security ties
Canada has formally applied to join the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force as an associate member, marking a further step in Ottawa's effort to deepen security links with Europe. Prime Minister Mark Carney made the request during an official visit to the United Kingdom on Wednesday, after meeting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels. The move comes as Canada seeks to diversify its diplomatic and defence relationships at a time of strained ties with the United States.Von der Leyen had invited Canada to become the first-ever associate member of the force, according to the material provided. Carney described... [Continue Reading]
South Korea rules out military role in Iran war as Seoul reviews limited navigation support
President Lee Jae Myung has said South Korea will not deploy military assets in any way that could draw the country into the war in Iran. He made the remarks at a news conference on Friday, saying there would be no deployment that would "involve or enter war." The comments come after pressure from Donald Trump for Seoul to provide support, and they clarify South Korea's position on a sensitive regional security issue. Lee said Seoul was still reviewing whether it could take a limited role in safeguarding navigation in the region.He said South Korea must do the minimum needed,... [Continue Reading]
Canada deepens EU ties amid US tariff pressure
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has said Ottawa wants stronger ties with the European Union as trade pressure from the United States pushes Canada to look for alternative allies and markets. In remarks to the European Parliament, Carney said closer links with the bloc would help ensure that no outside power could control Canada's markets or undermine its sovereignty. The comments add fresh momentum to a debate about whether middle powers can coordinate more closely in response to coercive economic measures.Carney linked the discussion to Canada's wider trade response to US tariffs and threats, saying the country is seeking to... [Continue Reading]
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More than 900 Gaza wheelchairs remain stuck in Jordan warehouses amid aid restrictions
More than 900 wheelchairs donated for injured children in Gaza are still being held in warehouses in Jordan, according to the supplied reporting. The shipments, sent by two Australian charities, have not reached the children they were intended to help because of restrictions on aid deliveries into Gaza. The wheelchairs are being stored in facilities managed by the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization on the outskirts of Amman.The donations arrived in Jordan in two separate consignments in February 2025 and a third in October 2025. They came from Kids on Wheels Alliance, based in New South Wales, and Wheelchairs for Kids,... [Continue Reading]
Rachida Dati goes on trial in Paris in Carlos Ghosn graft case
France's former culture minister Rachida Dati has gone on trial at a Paris court in a corruption case linked to lobbying for Renault-Nissan. The proceedings centre on a contract signed in October 2009 between Dati and Carlos Ghosn, then head of the carmaker alliance. Dati denies the allegations and is being tried alongside Ghosn, who will appear in absentia.The case concerns claims that Dati lobbied for Renault-Nissan while she was a member of the European Parliament between October 2009 and February 2013. Prosecutors say a legal services contract signed in 2009 was used to conceal lobbying work. According to the... [Continue Reading]
Sahel jihadist violence set to hit record levels this year
Islamist extremist violence in Africa's Sahel region is on track to reach historic highs this year, according to new figures compiled by a conflict monitor. The data point to a sharp escalation across Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, which together form the main centre of jihadist militancy in the region. The figures come as armed groups linked to al-Qaida and Islamic State continue to expand their reach in parts of the central Sahel.The monitor said incidents of violence involving jihadist groups in the three countries have risen from 63 in 2016 to 2,845 in 2025. So far this year, 2,145... [Continue Reading]
UK in talks to join Canada-led defence bank as NATO warns on Russia
The UK government is in discussions about joining a Canada-led investment bank designed to help countries raise more money for defence spending. The proposed Defence, Security and Resilience Bank would aim to lower borrowing costs for military and security projects, according to the supporting material. Treasury officials have said no decision has been made.The talks come as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is due to make his first meeting with the prime minister during a visit to the UK. He is expected to say the UK is serious about security and to praise its support for Ukraine. He is also... [Continue Reading]
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NATO drone incident over Lithuania as Baltic tensions deepen
NATO fighter jets shot down a drone that entered Lithuanian airspace overnight, in an incident that Lithuanian officials said was the first time such a device had been brought down over the country. The drone fell near the village of Pratkunai in central Lithuania, close to the Kaunas Reservoir and about 100 kilometres west of the capital, Vilnius. The episode came as Denmark separately accused a Russian frigate of firing flares at a Danish military helicopter monitoring the vessel in the Baltic Sea.Lithuania's national crisis management centre said the drone crossed into the country from Belarus on Tuesday. Defence Minister... [Continue Reading]
Carney says Canada will pursue unique security and economic alliance with EU amid US trade spat
Prime Minister Mark Carney has said Canada will pursue a "unique security and economic alliance" with Europe as Ottawa seeks to reduce its dependence on the United States. Speaking at the Canada Investment Summit in Toronto, he cast Canada as a "safe harbour" for foreign capital and said the country was positioning itself for what he called a new global economic order. The remarks add a sharper geopolitical edge to the government's wider effort to attract investment and diversify trade ties.Carney told investors, company executives and government ministers that Canada had recognised the rupture in its relationship with the US... [Continue Reading]
Russia threatens Warsaw with destruction if Poland joins war, amid sharp NATO rhetoric
A senior Kremlin aide has threatened that Warsaw would be destroyed if Poland entered military action against Russia, in a fresh escalation of rhetoric between Moscow and NATO states. Nikolai Patrushev, a close aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Russia would use its entire arsenal of forces and means if Poland joined a conflict against Russia. He said Warsaw would "cease to exist within two or three days".The comments were made in an interview with a Russian newspaper and came after Poland's foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, said NATO could "quite quickly" defeat Russia if Moscow attacked the alliance. Sikorski... [Continue Reading]
Bangsamoro election ends in hung parliament as coalition talks loom
Unofficial results from the first parliamentary election in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao show that no party won a majority, leaving the region set for coalition negotiations. With more than 99% of votes counted, the two rival parties linked to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front each won more than 30% of the vote, according to the partial count cited in the supplied material. Neither side reached the 41 seats needed to control the 80-member parliament.The result marks a significant moment for the Muslim-majority region in the southern Philippines, where the vote was intended to complete a long political... [Continue Reading]
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US democratic decline threatens global rule of law, report warns
A new report has warned that democratic decline in the United States is contributing to a wider weakening of the global rule of law. The study, released on Tuesday by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, says nearly half of the indicators used to measure US democracy have fallen to their lowest levels in 50 years. It describes the United States as the most prominent example and accelerator of a broader international trend.The report says President Donald Trump quickly amassed power in the executive branch and used it to pursue a narrow set of personal goals and retaliation... [Continue Reading]
NATO jets shoot down drone over Lithuania as officials cite allied readiness
Lithuanian officials said NATO fighter jets destroyed a drone that entered the country's airspace overnight, in an incident that briefly triggered alerts in Vilnius and the surrounding region. The drone was later reported to have fallen in a rural area near Lake Kaunas in central Lithuania. Authorities said preliminary information indicated it came from neighbouring Belarus and was heading west.President Gitanas Nausėda said the drone had just entered Lithuanian airspace when it was destroyed by NATO fighter jets. Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys said the response showed allied unity and resolve, thanking partners whose presence helps protect Lithuania's skies. According to... [Continue Reading]
Finland joins French nuclear deterrence initiative as cooperation deepens
Finland has agreed to join France's Forward Deterrence Initiative, widening French nuclear deterrence cooperation to another European state amid continuing concern over Russia and uncertainty about US commitment to Europe. The move was formalised in Helsinki by the Finnish and French foreign ministers as part of a new strategic partnership. It makes Finland the 10th European country to sign up to the initiative.Finnish President Alexander Stubb said the arrangement is "first and foremost about strengthening European security", while stressing that it does not replace NATO's nuclear deterrence. He also said the decision had been discussed extensively with the United States... [Continue Reading]
The Ghosn Paradox The Imperial Savior, His Cinematic Escape, and the Desperate Call to Salvage a Crumbling Nissan
The Man Who Defied Corporate Gravity Few corporate sagas in modern history possess the cinematic drama, geopolitical friction, and sheer psychological tension as the rise and fall of Carlos Ghosn. Once lauded as the ultimate transnational executive, a multi-lingual titan capable of bridging disparate business cultures, Ghosn became the absolute center of a global firestorm. His story cuts through the pristine facade of global corporate governance to reveal a messy underbelly of nationalism, legal vulnerability, and strategic failure. Rebuilding an Empire from the Ashes of Bankruptcy The mythos of Carlos Ghosn began in 1999. Nissan, one of Japan's proudest manufacturing... [Continue Reading]
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Fear the Shia, Arm the Sunnis: The Uncomfortable Numbers Behind America’s War Narrative
“When fear is managed carefully enough, a nation can be taught to look away from the blood on the floor and stare instead at the shadow on the wall.” A friend of mine, whose name I will not reveal because he asked me not to, sat across from me over dinner and placed a question on the table that would not leave me alone. He was born into a Muslim Shia background, and for the angle of this article, that detail matters, not because I wish to reduce a man to a sect, but because sect has become one of... [Continue Reading]
The Great Uncoupling: Abu Dhabi’s Sovereign Gambit
The UAE’s decision to cut ties with OPEC is far more than a mere adjustment of energy policy, for it functions as a political telegram written in barrels and sent directly to the heart of the global order. For nearly six decades, Abu Dhabi operated within the rigid architecture of producer discipline, where it accepted the rituals of quotas, the formality of communiqués, and the heavy burden of collective restraint. It played the long game of oil diplomacy with a patient hand, balancing its own massive national ambitions against the gravity of cartel discipline and the delicate logic of Gulf... [Continue Reading]
The Mirage of the Umbrella: The Shifting Sands of the U.S.-Israel-GCC Alliance
As I sat in a recent debate at the historic Carlton Club in London, listening to Faisal Abbas, the Editor-in-Chief of Arab News, I felt a tangible shift in the room, not because a new fact had been revealed, but because an old illusion had finally lost its last breath. The old-world order has not merely changed, it has evaporated, leaving the Gulf to realize it is no longer watching a distant fire from the safety of marble towers and air-conditioned ministries, but is instead standing directly inside the smoke. The GCC today is caught in a lethal crossfire between... [Continue Reading]
The Glass Elevator to Nowhere: A World Trapped in a Chocolate Factory
As a journalist in my mid-fifties, I thought my skin had thickened to the point of being impenetrable. I have covered the rise and fall of regimes, the grinding gears of the Cold War's leftovers, and the digital revolutions that promised to unite us. I thought I had seen every trick in the political playbook. Then came Donald Trump’s 2026 foreign policy, and I realized I was not watching a statesman; I was watching a child play with a chemistry set he does not understand. The Willy Wonka of the West: Rule by Whim Walking into a press briefing lately... [Continue Reading]
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When Deterrence Becomes Reality
Yesterday the war crossed a line! For years the Sejjil ballistic missile existed mostly as a symbol. A weapon paraded in military videos, discussed in defense briefings, whispered about in strategic circles as one of Iran’s most serious capabilities. A weapon that analysts described as deterrence, not something meant to be used. But on March 15, 2026, that line disappeared. Iran reportedly launched the Sejjil (also known as Ashoura) as part of what Tehran called the 54th wave of Operation True Promise 4, a massive strike package that also included the Fattah hypersonic missile and the Qadr ballistic missile system.... [Continue Reading]
The Madness of Power, From Balfour to the Edge of World War Three
A Voice in the Wilderness of War: Who Still Dares to Speak Truth While Empires March There are moments in history when the world suddenly accelerates toward disaster, moments when anyone who has studied history can feel the temperature rising even before the explosions reach their peak. The current escalation in the Middle East is one of those moments. According to the facts we now see unfolding, the United States and Israel made the unilateral decision to attack Iran without the approval of the United Nations, without a global coalition mandate, and without the support of most of the international... [Continue Reading]
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Shadows of Fire: The Long Arc of Iran–United States Tensions
A Region on Edge: The Latest Escalation In recent months, tensions between Iran and the United States have intensified once again, fueled by disputes over regional security, nuclear development, maritime incidents in the Persian Gulf, and the broader strategic balance in the Middle East. Officials in Washington have expressed renewed concern over Iran’s uranium enrichment levels, while leaders in Tehran have accused the United States of economic warfare through sanctions and diplomatic isolation. The fragile equilibrium that followed earlier rounds of indirect negotiations appears increasingly strained, with both sides engaging in sharp rhetoric at the United Nations, reinforcing military postures... [Continue Reading]
There Is Good in Every Bad
Power, Greed, Oil, and the Theater of Modern Geopolitics The Business Model of Power Donald Trump does not govern like a traditional politician. He governs like a negotiator who believes every geopolitical crisis is leverage, every war threat is a bargaining chip, and every market panic is an opportunity. When markets tremble, someone profits. The question is, who? Global markets react instantly to political tension. Gold rises when conflict looms. Oil spikes when instability threatens production. Stock markets collapse on fear, then rebound on reassurance. Volatility is not chaos, it is opportunity. Historically, gold has surged during major geopolitical crises,... [Continue Reading]




